Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Repetitio mater memoriae

The memory work continues, and my journey so far as an Entered Apprentice is as a catechumin. My coach tells me that I’m making good progress.

One precept that my Latin teacher in college hammered home was repetitio mater memoriae, “repition is the mother of memory.” Having nothing in writing to study means I have to remember the very questions I need to ask myself if I want to “study” on my own when I’m not working the material with my coach. Amazingly, I’ve found that I can do it. Since my first session with my coach last Friday I have been going over the catechsim in my mind off and on several times a day. Today was the first time I’ve worked with my coach since then and I was able to repeat the material we went over last week with only one mistake.

The material we covered today was a bit more complex, so we didn’t cover quite as much as last time. We are going to meet again tomorrow. Also, there is someone being intiated as an Entered Apprentice at a neighboring lodge on Thursday evening, and my coach and I are going. As an Entered Apprentice I can only attend a lodge that is open in the First Degree, which basically means I can only attend the initiation of another Entered Apprentice. I’m looking forward to being a part of someone else’s inititiation while my own is still fresh in my mind.

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